


Taking It For The Team - Part 2

by LoveYourArtFriend



Series: Taking It For The Team [2]
Category: American (US) Actor RPF, Captain America - All Media Types, Chris Evans - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Romance, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:08:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22123861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveYourArtFriend/pseuds/LoveYourArtFriend
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Taking It For The Team [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1523456
Kudos: 2





	Taking It For The Team - Part 2

Something was wrong. What triggered this behavior? It was driving her mad. Her friends noticed a difference in her, but if they only knew the irony of the situation. She couldn't figure him out and they couldn't figure her out. It was a vicious circle that needed to find its end.

~~~~~~

Adam had issues. Only his roommates knew of his addiction and came up with a solution to feed his disease. Five months before his wedding, he slowly started to move his belongings into his fiancee's apartment. Adam's behavior intensified. In his eyes, his fiance fueled the brunt of his physical aggression but she wasn’t aware of the manipulations he was pulling behind her back.

Adam’s fiancee worked for Stark Industries and although she was frugal with her money, he saw it as an endless supply, something he should be privy to. Even before he moved in, he occasionally helped himself to a twenty from her wallet when she wasn’t in the room.

Adam was a full blown gambling addict and he soon began taking time off from his job and spending endless hours at the casino. Within a couple of weeks, he lost his job and that spurred an erratic change in his behavior. His fiancee was away on business a lot and he became jealous, accusing her of everything from having too much freedom to cheating on him. He let her know exactly how he felt when she came home in the early hours of the morning.

~~~~~~

His voice had escalated to the point where she was sure the neighbors could hear. Lucky for him they weren’t home. He had been drinking while he waited up for her. When she figured he was done accusing her of sleeping with someone else, she told him to spend the night on the couch as she turned and left his sight. She walked into her bedroom, the one they were slowly sharing together, and started to undress. She unzipped her skirt and it fell to the floor. As she turned around, she saw him at the door, staring at her.

He started to walk toward her with a look on his face that didn’t seem normal. Her eyes widened the closer he came, his arm reaching out and grabbing her hair, pulling hard to snap her neck back. Her hands desperately worked to pry his fingers open and that’s when he spun her around and threw her to the floor.

“No,” she moaned as her head hit the ground and she felt his body lay on top of hers. He retained his grip on her as he started to undo his pants and lower his boxers, rubbing his erection over her ass.

Her mind was in a fog after hitting her head and he leaned to her ear, “Tell me how he fucks you?” His eyes were as black as oil and his mind was gone.

“What??” That was it, she lost it, “Adam, fuck off!” She started to kick but only managing to hit him in the ass as his hand deftly pumped his shaft, trying to jerk off on her. In one last ditch effort, she pulled her legs up and under herself. With all her might she twisted her body underneath him and flipped onto her back, keeping her legs tucked between the two of them. He released her hair during the unexpected move and she pushed his body away with her legs. He faltered backward but quickly regained his footing. She was mortified and had no words for what just happened as he stood above her and stared her down. He turned to walk to the bathroom and all she heard him say was, “Fuck that shit.”

The next morning he apologized and swore it would never happen again.

~~~~~~

Adam was in deep, deep enough to visit Vincent Carletta, a loan shark. Willing to accept any stipulations, he agreed to the terms and went on his merry way with ten thousand dollars.

Seemingly calmer for the next couple of weeks, he gave his fiancee some reprieve. She continued to strive for his attention, continued to lose weight for him, continued to avoid her friends for him. Still, he never spoke to her about what was troubling him. Maybe the issue had found a home in the past. One could only hope.

The gambling continued with fervor. She went to work, he went to the casino. He did well for a while, even doubled his money. One would think he would pay back his loan at this point but, no. Instead he got cocky. He started doubling his bets, then losing his bets. Panic set in as he scrambled to make the money back. He had to get it from somewhere.

The day of her Christmas party, he hit an all-time low. After she left her phone on the counter to go and take a shower, he noticed she didn’t lock it, a careless mistake on her part. He lifted her phone, thumbed through her apps and found what he wanted. He wondered if he could get away with it. Pulling his own phone from his pocket, he downloaded Smart Switch on both devices and started copying her banking information onto his phone. Once complete, he deleted the thieving app from her device and managed to put it back on the counter moments before she came down the hallway looking for it. Soon small amounts of money would escape her savings and she would be none the wiser.

Then Adam blew it. A dick move that separated him from his fiancee, indefinitely. Alcohol, jealousy and addiction never mix and when he made a spectacle of himself at her Christmas party, the evening came to a screeching end. When he laid a hand on her in front of Tony Stark, their relationship was over. Adam was forced to leave her life and relinquish the key to her heart and her apartment.

~~~~~~

“You really don’t have to, Steve. Tony has security outside.”

“I know, F/n,” he put his hands on your shoulders and looked you in the eye, “I would just feel better if you weren’t alone.”

You took a moment and looked deep into his blue eyes. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer and you knew it. With a sigh, you reluctantly succumbed, bowed your head and crashed it into his chest. He wrapped his arms around you and held you, feeling your hands creep around his torso and hold him in place. Turning your head toward the window and making yourself more comfortable on his chest, you watched the city lights twinkle before saying, “Thank you.”

A soft smile formed on his face as he ran his arms up and down your back, “I’m always here for you, F/n.”

And there it was, he warmed your heart and made you feel needed in one sentence.

“I should get the couch made up for you,” you spoke softly as you slowly pulled away from his embrace.

“No, don’t. You go and get some sleep. If you need me, I’ll be right here,” he pointed behind him, “on the biggest sofa I’ve ever seen.” He smiled, “No leg cramps tonight.” He looked at you intently, making sure you smiled at his little joke. You did as you turned and started toward the hallway.

Before you rounded the corner, you turned back to look at him, “Good night, Steve,” the corner of your mouth curled slightly.

“Good night, F/n,” he smiled back before reaching for his duffel bag. He waited for you to shower and finish in the bathroom before he went down the hall to clean up. Once nestled on the couch with one of your soft blankets, he lay with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling. He felt bad about the situation and wanted to do more for you but right now, you needed to heal, you needed a friend. After a while, he heard soft sobs cutting through the quiet of the night. It was coming from your bedroom. You never cried in front of your friends, you always came across like a rock, so to hear those sounds emanate from your room broke his heart. He crossed his arms over his chest and just listened. It took a good fifteen minutes before there was silence and he knew you were asleep. Bringing his hand up to his face, he pinched the bridge of his nose as he exhaled a sigh, “God, this is going to be harder than I thought.”

~~~~~~

Through the course of the week, the team had your back, helping you rid your apartment of Adam's belongings and gave you space to heal. You focused on your work and made sure it still remained your priority. Natasha replaced your phone and Steve kept an unknowing eye to ensure you were mentally and physically ready if he needed you on a mission.

One evening, you were in the lounge doing some extra work for Pepper on your laptop. Steve came up and noticed your concentration. “You’ve been going at that for a couple of hours. Have you eaten?”

Looking at the time on the screen, you smiled, “No, the time’s gotten away from me tonight.”

“I ordered a pizza...should be here soon. I’m willing to share,” he smiled.

“Well, if you’re offering, how can I say no?” you chuckled as you closed your computer.

Steve walked behind the bar, “Drink?”

“Sure, whiskey please.”

“Whiskey and pizza? Uhhhh, you gotta start liking beer.”

You walked toward the bar and gave a look as if you were going to barf. “Ugh, beer’s gross. Good thing this is Tony’s alcohol because I’m not a cheap date.” Steve laughed as he placed your drink on the counter and grabbed himself a beer. “Thank you, Sir,” you smirked. “Cheers,” you reached your drink out to clink with Steve’s beer.

“Cheers,” he replied. He watched you take your sip and you noticed his eyes didn’t leave you. Cocking your head, he shifted his eyes away.

“What’s up?” you asked.

“Just wondering if you’re okay,” he looked back at you.

You nodded, “Work’s been busy. Keeps me occupied.”

“You’ve been spending a lot more time here,” he noted.

“The apartment’s quiet at night.”

“I’m sorry, F/n.”

“No, no, it’s not a bad thing. Actually, it’s a relief.” You swirled your drink and tapped your finger on the glass. “I was, uh, used to being yelled at a lot and now it’s just….quiet.”

Steve inhaled deeply, a look of forlorn across his brow. There was no way you didn’t notice as he fiddled with the label on the beer bottle.

“What’s the matter?” you asked, gently.

“I didn’t want to tell you this, but I feel I have to.” Your eyes looked at him questionably. He pursed his lips and hesitated, “Adam had a very loud voice when he was angry. He projected through our apartment walls so I always knew when he yelled at you. I never said anything to you, nor have I ever said anything to anyone else. No one knows this but me.”

Your face lost its color and your mouth sat slightly ajar. You couldn’t believe he knew, couldn’t believe he didn’t confront you, couldn’t believe how embarrassed you were right at that moment. Then you sighed as you realized all the times you tried to avoid the team. “You’ve known every time I’ve lied to you?” you whispered, eyes darting down to your fidgeting hands. Steve reached over the counter and lifted your chin up to force you to look at him. His eyes were non-judgmental, sorrowful and beautiful. “Steve, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t,” he replied. “Don’t apologize for something out of your control. I understand,” he said, meaningfully as he took his hand back from your chin. “I should be apologizing to you but I didn’t want to interfere. You have a personal life outside of this dysfunctional work family and you deserve your privacy. I will admit that when you started to disengage us, I was worried about you.” Your eyebrows raised at his comment. “I worried about your safety, I worried about you being compromised and I worried about you, in general. You are very important to the team and you’re important to me, F/n and I,” he took a large breath, “I don’t want to lose you.”

All the color that was lost from your face had come back at Steve’s admission. The two of you were close friends, you always were, but what he said had shed a new light on the life you had been living. How could you have been so blind? “I...I didn’t realize…....”

Slowly walking out from behind the bar, he continued, “We all had some suspicions that something was wrong, Natasha being the most vocal.” That statement lifted the corner of your mouth into a smirk that only lasted a moment. “Besides,” he gave you a soft smile, “I never thought you were lying. I figured you were trying to make things better. But please, F/n, please don’t think you have to take something on alone.”

You sat there, stunned at his words. Your chin started to quiver but you’d be damned if you started to cry. “Come here, you,” Steve stood before you and wrapped his arms around your shoulders in a comforting embrace. You held his torso, your head resting on his shoulder. This had become your calming place lately. When he held you, you felt safe and that’s when you breathed a large sigh, exhaling your relief.

Steve’s voice reverberated through his chest and into your ear, “I will say it every time, F/n, I am always here for you.” His voice lowered with true sincerity, “Please don’t ever forget that.”

The next morning, Steve texted you but didn’t get a response. After knocking on your door and again, no answer, he figured you went to the gym to work off the pizza you ate last night. He headed to the Tower and stood at the doorway, watching and wondering why both you and Natasha were laying on the floor, sweating profusely and breathing heavily, the punching bag ripped open and its contents spilled all over the floor.

He gave it a minute before walking in, “I thought working out involved movement, not napping,” he stated sarcastically.

“Alright, Rogers.” Nat piped up, “For your information, we just finished.” She sat up and Steve noticed her split lip.

“Woah, what the?” He quickly looked over at you. Your back was to him as you had started to get up off the floor. Small drops of blood on the ground caught his attention as you reached for a towel. Turning back toward Steve, you had the towel over your nose, blood having found its way down the front of your shirt.

“Ladies?” Steve asked with a look of confusion on his face.

Natasha looked you in the eye before giving a quick wink. “Well, we made sure we didn’t pull our punches.”

He handed Natasha a towel after making sure her cut wasn’t too deep. “You’re supposed to use that aggression on the enemy, not on each other,” he chuckled as he walked toward you. You pulled the towel from your face and he saw a smear of blood across your cheek. “Oh geez,” he commented.

You smiled as you tried to wipe the offensive bio-hazard off your face. “Do we have a mission?”

He nodded his affirmation. “We leave in the early morning. Are you ready?”

“Yes, Sir,” you confirmed.

“Good. I’ll meet you in the Lounge in an hour with the mission details.”

~~~~~~

You had showered quickly and brought your laptop up to the Lounge to take notes on Steve’s briefing. Placing an order online for some Chinese food, you thought maybe Steve wouldn’t mind having a working lunch. He walked in with Tony at the same time FRIDAY announced your delivery.

“Miss F/n, your lunch has arrived.”

“Thank you, FRIDAY. Please allow the driver into the front lobby and I will be there momentarily.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Ma’am?” you chuckled as you grabbed your wallet. Heading to the elevator, you turned once inside, “My treat, guys. Hope you’re hungry.”

Tony turned to Steve and chuckled, “She’s buying _me_ lunch?”

In the lobby, you used your debit card to pay for the food. “I’m sorry,” the driver said as he looked at the machine. “It looks like your card was declined.”

“What? Well, that’s strange and embarrassing,” you blushed. “Okay, sorry, here’s a credit card instead.”

~~~~~~

The building was in Whittier, Alaska - an old, abandoned army building and they were going in to retrieve a virus that was stolen from the CDC. She didn’t know how HYDRA kept resurfacing but figured there were so many facets out there, they could bubble up and surface anywhere. It saddened her as she looked at Steve’s face. He would probably be battling them for the rest of his life. But this time, a virus? She didn’t know what kind it was nor did she want to know. Tony teased her that she would have to be careful with the vials because if she broke one, she’d be patient zero in the impending zombie apocalypse. Steve listened to their banter with utter confusion until she promised to have a movie night with the Super Soldier and they’d watch World War Z. Truth be told and all joking aside, she just wanted the bio hazard returned safely but even the best of plans can be thrown a curve ball.

Steve took care of the agents escaping out the South side of the building and Tony was on the East end, taking them out as they fled. Steve sent her in knowing she would probably run into resistance. The men listened to her through their comms and knew agents were after her on the way up to the sixth floor. They listened to her take them out and afterward, make the grim discovery that she was out of ammo.

She had the package.

She had done her job swiftly and efficiently when HYDRA tried to trap her in the stairwell. Having nowhere to go except back onto the sixth floor, she looked for an alternative escape. There wasn’t one - either run across the vast, open floor and risk being shot by the agents once they opened the stairwell door, or the only other means of leaving the building. She decided on the latter.

“Tony, if I’ve needed you ever, I need you now!” she screamed as she took off running toward the windows.

FRIDAY wasted no time overriding Tony’s suit and pulling a massive amount of G force to get him to the front of the building, both men yelling their panicked emotions at the intense situation. Steve ran toward the building and witnessed her body eject itself from the top floor. Tony flew in from her right and FRIDAY fired the suit’s shoulder missiles through the window casings where she jumped, killing the agents. She clambered for him as he drew closer. He cut it close as he flew past and grabbed her arm before she hit the ground.

No amount of serum would have gotten Steve there in time to save her. His heart fell into his stomach watching her and the second Tony caught her, he stopped running and fell to his knees, a world of emotions swirling in his brain.

Tony held her wrist tight before lowering her to the ground. FRIDAY confirmed he dislocated her shoulder when he grabbed her and severely bruised her wrist but hearing his best friend’s voice yell from below and say she was okay was the relief he needed, more than anything.

He lowered her to the ground as Steve ran up to them. Pulling the vials from her utility belt, he sent Tony to the CDC to return the rogue virus as he tried to be gentle with her arm in order to get her back to the Quinjet. To his surprise, she told him to reset her shoulder, right then and there. He didn’t want to but she insisted, keeping intense eye contact with him as he pushed the bone back into the socket.

~~~

You had slept in your own bed that night, much to the chagrin of Dr. Banner. He wanted you to be in the Tower’s Infirmary but Steve promised to keep an eye on you and slept on your sofa, again. What was it with him and that sofa?

At 2:37 a.m., your shriek could have woken the dead as your eyes shot open, sweat covered your body and erratic breathing overtook you. You laid there trying to gather your faculties when a knock came to your bedroom door.

“F/n? Are you okay?” Steve’s muffled voice sounded from the hallway.

You sat up in bed, “I’m coming,” you croaked as you tried to get up and make your way to the door.

You opened it slowly, Steve stood there, looking at you intently before stepping past the threshold toward you. He watched you wipe the sweat from your forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just a bad dream,” you mumbled as you backed up to let him in. Sitting on the edge of your bed, you continued, “I’m sorry I woke you.” You tried to slow your heart rate from the beating-through-the-chest-wall speed to something quasi-normal.

“Want to talk about it?” he asked as he sat beside you.

You chuckled and shied away as it seemed silly to you. “I just, uh, dreamed about falling, you looked in his eyes. Tony was falling from the wormhole, then it turned into me. None of the team were there and…...it all just felt so real,” you whispered.

Steve’s face was full of sorrow. Having experience with nightmares of his own, he felt horrible and hoped this dream wouldn’t become the first of many. But truth be told, you both looked at each other and knew the team would rather dodge bullets than watch the other almost fall to their demise.

“Come here,” he reached for you and brought you in toward his body. His arm wrapped around your shoulders, being careful of the one that was injured earlier in the day. He lifted your wrist to examine its new-found colors and weirdly enough, his actions lowered your anxiety and calmed you. His touch was warm and you placed your head on his shoulder, but after a couple of moments, a shiver ran up your spine. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just a chill. I think I’ll get cozy under the covers and try to go back to sleep,” you replied as you slowly lifted away from his body.

Steve leaned toward you and kissed your hair before standing up. As he stepped toward your door, he turned back, “I’ll see you in a few hours.” His smile was soft and his words were gentle and meaningful. He was a good man.

~~~~~~

“Alright, Adam. It’s time to have a very serious conversation.”

Adam stood before the loan shark, practically shitting his pants. It was time to pay back the money he borrowed only he didn’t have full payment.

“Where is it?” he demanded.

“I have most of it but my I’m being given the gears, Sir.”

“How so?” he questioned.

“Well, Mr. Carletta,” Adam took a deep breath before proceeding with his concocted story, “My ex-girlfriend kicked me out and took my money.” His eyes darted all around the room at Carletta’s very large gentlemen assistants. He hesitated a slight bit but continued, “She, uh, well, I can get it, Sir, but it will take some time. I can only get bits at a time or umm, maybe you could get it from her?” He held his breath as he waited for a response.

Carletta sat back in his chair, his arms crossed his chest and he let out a low hum. He knew Adam’s story was exactly that, a low ball attempt to get out of his debt by placing blame on someone else. He could tell by the lies that he was stealing the money from his ex so he thought he’d play along, maybe call his bluff. He brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sat, eyes closed, in contemplation.

The silence was driving Adam insane and sweat had already broken out all over his body. He was a mess, his hands were starting to shake as bits and pieces of his life started to flash before his eyes. Suddenly he started thinking of another way out of this mess. Maybe he could go to the bank and get a small loan for the remainder. Maybe he should get some help and try to clean up his life. Maybe he should try again to get more time. “Uh, Mr. Carletta, Sir, I can get the mon……..”

“I have a sadness in my heart for your situation, Adam. I don’t like to hear when my clients have been stiffed out of the funds I lend them,” he cut him off with his lie. “So I will take pity on you, my friend, and help you collect what is rightly yours, or should I say….mine.”

Adam started to panic. “You know what, that’s okay. I can get the money, I just need…..”

“What is this woman’s name?” Carletta asked.

“No, really, it’s quite alright, Sir. If I could just……”

“Adam, I am asking you the name of your ex-girlfriend,” he leaned forward on his desk and peered into Adam’s soul.

“I beg you, Mr. Carl……”

“HER NAME!” he yelled and pounded his fist on his desk. He wasn’t going to back down now. His assistants stepped toward Adam, intimidating him, scaring him.

“F/n L/n,” Adam finally whispered.

“Good. Good. Okay, so, my friend, let me pour you a drink,” he rose from his seat and walked over to his bar cart, pouring each of them a Scotch. “I will ask you a few more minor questions then I’ll tell you what will come of this F/n. Her lack of respect for you will not go unnoticed.”

It was official, Adam shit his pants.

~~~~~~

Over the next couple of days, you didn’t leave Pepper’s side. She was closing a large merger and was thankful you were okay after your last mission. She needed you to be her number one and you were thrilled to be there for her at such an important time. A priority on your list, you made it to the bank and had a new debit card assigned. When you slipped out to the small cafe a block away and tried to buy you and Pepper a latte, your debit card was declined again. “What the Hell is happening?” you questioned, figuring you’d have to go back to the bank, yet again. “What are the odds that two cards are defective?”

Working late, you knew you wouldn’t make it to the bank until at least tomorrow, but you needed a few groceries. It was a beautiful November day, leading into the evening. Oddly warm for this time of year, the temperature was still hovering in the fifties, you didn’t hesitate to walk to work. Now you couldn’t wait to clear your mind and walk home, taking advantage of the cool evening air. With your laptop bag slung over your shoulder and a paper grocery bag housed by your left arm, you answered your phone while walking briskly down the sidewalk.

“Hello?”

“F/n!”

“Bruce, how are you?” you answered excitedly.

“Wonderful, but the question is, how are you? How’s that shoulder?”

“It’s fine, Bruce.”

“F/n!” Bruce’s tone was condescending.

“No really, I’m doing fine,” you tried to convince him. “I usually put an ice pack on it in the evening but other than that, it’s great.”

Out of nowhere, a large brick wall of a body slammed into your arm holding the groceries, knocking you on your ass, sending the bag of goodies flying across the sidewalk and your phone toppling to your side.

“Hey!” you yelled from the ground as you turned to see who the assailant was. “Watch where you’re going, ass hole!”

“F/n? Are you okay? What’s going on?”

You picked up your phone and sat cross-legged on the cement, watching your round fruits and vegetables escape down the sidewalk and out onto the street.

“F/n? Are you there?”

“I’m here,” you put your elbow on your knee and set your chin in the palm of your hand. “Some dumb ass just plowed into me.”

“Oh my God, are you okay? Is your car still driveable?”

“No, no, I’m fine. I was walking home from the grocery store. Now I’m sitting on the sidewalk, watching my produce roll away.”

“Want me to come get you?”

“Thank you, Bruce, but it’s okay. I’m almost home. I’ll just gather my pride and my food and continue on my way.” You started to chuckle, “How is it that I can kick ass at any given time but some jerk accidentally runs into me and knocks me on my ass?”

Bruce laughed on the other end of the phone, “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” you exerted as you forced yourself to your feet and chased a few rolling items that were close by.

When you got off the elevator at your apartment, Steve opened his apartment door, starling you. “Geez, Steve, you almost gave me a heart attack,” you chuckled.

He smiled, “Been waiting for you.”

“You have?” you questioned as you pulled your keys from your pocket. Steve stepped out and grabbed your grocery bag.

“Well,” he smiled sheepishly, “I thought maybe I’d take you up on that movie.” His eyes were childlike, eager to do something with you.

“Hey, sure. That sounds like fun. I’m sorry I’m home later than usual. I still have to make dinner,” you noted as you opened your door and had Steve follow you in.

“So, I was thinking about that,” he chuckled as he put the grocery bag down on your kitchen counter. You turned and put your hands on your hips and cocked your eyebrow, awaiting his little plan. “Okay, so,” he clapped his hands together and rubbed them like this was the best scheme ever. “I was thinking we could make dinner together, eat and watch the movie,” his smile reached his eyes.

You stood with your mouth slightly ajar as you took in his sweet and premeditated plan. It took all of 2.1 seconds for it to register, a smile to form on your lips and Steve’s heart to flutter at the eager acceptance of his proposal. “I would love that, but I’ll let you know, I’m down one onion, two tomatoes and a lime,” you joked as you turned to unpack the grocery bag.

Steve laughed, “What?”

“So, I was coming home tonight and some brick house giant rammed into me and knocked me on my butt. I lost a few roly poly items down the road.”

“Are you okay?” he walked toward you and put his hand on your arm as you pulled a can from the bag.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. My pride and my butt are probably bruised,” you giggled, “but what’s done is done.”

“Do you need Bruce to check you out?” he replied with concern.

“I’m totally fine, Steve,” you smiled sweetly at him. “I was actually on the phone with him when it happened and I am not about to go and show him my butt,” you laughed.

Steve blushed, “I meant your shoulder, in case you jarred it.”

You could have cut the air with a knife as you stared at Steve.

“Pffft, a-ha, ha, ha,” you burst out laughing and Steve followed suit. “I’m sorry, I thought you meant…..uh, I mean….urgh, never mind,” you flustered. “Let’s just not worry about that and get cooking some dinner!!

“What do you still need and I’ll run home and get it,” Steve eagerly tried to avoid blushing too much in front of you.

“Uh, a couple of tomatoes would be great if you have them. I have extras of the other items that got away.”

“Perfect. I’ll be right back,” Steve smiled as he turned to the door. What seemed like a whole thirty seconds later as you pulled your wok from your lower cupboards and placed it on the stove, a quick knock came to your door. Steve walked in with tomatoes, a bottle of wine, and was that cologne you smelled?

You pulled off a beautiful Mexican stir fry that was fun and healthy with rice, beans, onions, shredded chicken, red pepper, cilantro, peas, corn, avocados and tomatoes. Steve did the chopping and you did the sauteing while you both chatted up a storm. He set your table as you both had decided to eat dinner before the movie then popped the wine cork and poured two glasses. You prepped the dessert of chopped strawberries, apples and mangoes, tossed the bowl of fruit with a tequila lime drizzle, spooned it into your favorite dessert nappies and placed it in the fridge. By that time, the stir fry was complete and Steve had tidied up the kitchen. You removed the wok from the heat, put it on the table, added the chopped tomato and avocado, tossed on some cilantro and handed Steve a fork. He laughed as he made his way to his seat.

Steve thought dinner was amazing and thanked you profusely as he tried to shuffle his food baby to the sofa in front of your television. It didn’t take much to polish off the bottle of wine as Steve couldn’t get drunk and you were pretty excellent at holding your own. You put on a small pot of decaf coffee while he found the movie on Netflix.

Ninety minutes later, you fell asleep on his shoulder as he watched the remainder of the movie, horrified at its realism. He thought of the Alaskan mission and the conversation Tony had about you being patient zero of a zombie apocalypse. He knew it was only a movie but he couldn’t get over the similarities. He knew it was your job but, like usual, he sent you into an unknown, dangerous situation. He knew the mission was about a virus but didn’t know of its potential hazard. He knew you would follow orders but was mortified that something could have happened under his command. Okay, he was a little freaked out by this point. He was ready to strangle you for making him watch this movie and make his mind run amok with wild, fictional, horrible thoughts. Instead, he tilted his head to see you fast asleep, curled into his shoulder. After turning off the TV, he gently held your head as he moved out of his spot, stood up and laid you down with one of your fluffy pillows under your head. He took both coffee mugs to the kitchen and put them in the sink. Thoughtfully, he grabbed your phone and took it back to the coffee table beside you and turned to cover your body with one of the soft blankets that lay over the back of the sofa. He watched you for a brief moment before he leaned down and kissed your cheek. He turned off all the lights save for the dining table chandelier that he dimmed to its lowest setting. As he opened the door, he hit the lock, peeked at your sleeping form and whispered, “Good night, F/n.” With that, the door gently closed and your phone alarm woke you at 5:00 a.m. the next morning.

~~~~~~

Your morning run through the park was so full of laughter that it was actually hard to concentrate on your steps. You and Steve were joined by Sam but the whole conversation was about zombies and the more Steve ranted, the faster he ran. You and Sam couldn’t keep up so you laughed even harder and had to frequently stop and double over. Once you both caught your breath, you started up again but were on your own as Steve was already a couple miles ahead. Sam gave you semi shit for letting Steve watch that movie but also admitted he wished he could have been there to watch the facial expressions on the man out of time. “You know, F/n, the most horrifying thing Steve’s probably ever been through was his mother over boiling their chicken and turning it to rubber.”

“Oh, Sam, that’s awful.”

“I know, right?”

“No, I mean, you’re awful,” you gave him crap and his smile fell from his face. “He’s been through a lot and has seen some pretty weird and wild things. His era was fairly simple according to our standards, until he became who he is. But he’s not grown with our time. He’s still trying to adjust.”

“F/n, I didn’t mean to offend,” Sam spoke softly.

“I know, and I realize I was laughing about the here and now, but joking about the era he grew up in seems insensitive.”

“I’m sorry, F/n. I didn’t think about that.” A silent moment passed before he spoke again, “You are protective of him.”

“Maybe a little.”

“Maybe you feel sorry for him.”

You looked at Sam briefly, “Yeah, maybe. He never got a chance, you know? He didn’t choose this and I just…..I feel bad.”

“You’re a good friend, F/n. He trusts you and relies on you probably more than you know.”

“He's so full of emotional burden, but I know he’s trying.”

“He has no choice.”

“True. I’m thankful he has all of us.”

“Hey you two slackers!” came a holler from behind you. The two of you edged over to the right side of the path as Steve came running up from behind. “Can’t keep up, huh?”

“Yo man, there’s no way we’re as fast as you,” Sam retorted. “Besides, you were ranting about zombies so we just let you get it out of your system,” he smiled as you let out a soft giggle.

“I should make you do an extra five miles for forcing me to watch that crazy movie.”

“Steve!” you yipped as you suddenly stopped your run.

“Oh man, this is between you two,” Sam chuckled as he continued on and Steve stopped for you.

The soldier turned and walked back toward you after you make your way to the grass and lean on a tree, chest heaving from the sudden stop. He was almost in front of you when you confessed, “I’m sorry, Steve. It was only a movie and I didn’t know it would have this kind of impact on you.” He smiled as he stood directly in front of you. You watched as his breath was calm, as if he hadn’t been running at all. Damn serum.

“F/n, I’m sorry, too. I realize it was only a movie but my mind has been reeling since watching it.” Without even realizing it, he brought his hands up to your face and cupped your cheeks. “It was so similar to our mission in Alaska that I got a little freaked out. It scared me because I didn’t know what that virus was and you were front line, hands on.”

Your eyes were wide as saucers as his hands hold you and you listened to his confession. You brought your hands up to his wrists and gave them a squeeze. “Steve, it’s okay. It’s my job. We go in all the time, not knowing what the outcome will be.”

When he felt your hands squeeze his wrists, he came to the realization what he was doing and gently pulled his hands away from your face. “I uh, it’s just that I said I would always be there for you and how can I do that,” he took a large breath and tried to lighten the moment, “if you turn into a zombie?”

“Oh my God,” you laughed out loud and he joined in. He loved the sound of your laugh and at that exact moment, he wanted to kiss you. It wasn’t right, though. In his eyes, you were healing and it was inappropriate…..or was it more untimely? His mind hadn’t made its decision although his heart already did.


End file.
